


The Codex

by Phonenixfire1982



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27465880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phonenixfire1982/pseuds/Phonenixfire1982
Summary: Molly and Harry are given a special assignment by Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness. Several Sidhe nobles have gone missing and the pair are sent to investigate. It is soon discovered that Sidhe magic is not usable against this threat, soHarry needs to decide who of his band of friends he will choose to help him save the Sidhe nobles and possibly the world in the process....This is my first fan-fic and I would really like feedback so I can improve. I have more chapters that I will post later.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It's not easy being the winter knight. I've come up against a lot of things during my stint as mab's new plaything. But nothing could have prepared me for what I would be up against this time.

“Forzare!” I screamed as I hurled a blast of invisible force at a swamp demon as he came around a corner.

It hit him right between the eyes and he flew back into an old chicken roost, spewing feathers everywhere.

“Nice shot Harry,” I heard from in front of me as my old apprentice Molly reached out her hand to help me up. I say old apprentice because now little Molly was the winter lady. In effect, she had become one of my many bosses in the Sidhe court.

We had been sent out by Mab to investigate a series of disappearances of

Sidhe nobles from the winter court over the past few months. Mab had not said much but It was clear that she believed summer was involved in some way.

She obviously thought this to be of high importance because she sent us both to investigate. It had been quite sometime since Molly and I had been on a mission together. She being the winter lady, I was usually dispatched by her or Mab to this way or the next. To set an example for upstarts in the court or assassinate high profile Sidhe nobles that had begun to revolt.

Molly had changed so much since becoming the winter lady. At times when I looked at her, I could swear that I was looking at Mav, if not for the smile and facial features.

It was true that Molly had changed and her clothes had changed but to me she would always be Molly. The daughter of a former knight of the cross and a gifted wizard in illusionary magic and defense.

Her hair was the color of blue with streaks of purple. She wore a waist length shirt with a brown jacket that barely covered anything useful. She was in tight black jeans that were more covert than the usual winter lady wear but they did little to hide her physique and body.

Since becoming the winter lady, Molly had definitely changed.

“Come on Harry, what are you waiting for?”

I grabbed her hand as we ran down the field. All around us were sounds of various animals making scared noises. We were running through piles of hay and grass and other things that I rather not think about.

Usually the Sidhe court would not run from something such as this but for whatever reason, Sidhe magic did not work against the creature that was pursuing us.

I was also unable to pull power from the winter knight’s mantle to use against the creature. My own magic without the buff had seemed to work fine but only when I had been severed from connection to the mantle.

To do this without jamming a nail into my body which while excruciatingly painful was also impractical, Molly had taken possession of the mantle temporarily which had made her more powerful but either way, she could not use her powers anyway against the creature.

As we continued to run for a safe haven I felt the change in the air as Molly veiled us with her magic. Having both the mantle of the winter lady and the winter knight made this much easier than it would have been but also very hard on her body to keep the spell going. However, while she was using the mantle, the magic was not trying to rip her in two.

We rounded a haystack near the end of the field and stopped for a moment to catch our breath. Molly was blurry to me and myself to her, but I knew that she was there.

I looked over the haystack to see if the Swamp demon was still pursuing us, but saw that It had not left the chicken barn and was pacing around, apparently trying to discover where we had gone.

“He can't leave the barn,” Molly said. “The protective magic that keeps him corporeal in the world will collapse outside of the barn.”

“That would have been great to know since we ran all the way over here,” I mentioned slightly short of breath.

“The problem we have,” Molly said “is that in order to free the Sidhe noble, we need to get past the swamp demon and since Sidhe magic doesn't work against him, it's useless to be in the barn at the moment.”

“Did you see anything while you were inside that might be of use?”

“Well,” I said “inside the barn was a sphere of light surrounding one of the Sidhe nobles, as well as several spikes protruding from the interior of barn. Where they touched the sphere, there was a purple haze forming that seemed to be wrapping itself around the noble and strangling it.”

The Sidhe do not breathe of course, but it did look like it was in severe discomfort.

I also noticed that the glow of the Sidhe noble was becoming, I don't know fainter I guess?

“My guess is that whatever that sphere and those spikes are, it very well may be why your magic doesn't hurt it.”

“I see,” Molly said. She began to look slightly pale and feverish. “I think I should give you back the mantle before I implode.”

On her finger she had several rings. Three she used for kinetic energy and the fourth was the winter mantle. She slipped it off her finger very carefully and put it on my finger.

I shuddered as I could feel the magic of the mantle helping me to forget my injuries and causing me to feel much more vital and alive, while still a very cold sensation.

Molly had created the ring earlier when we discovered the impotency of Sidhe magic against the barriers.

It was only by chance that we had noticed the effect of my own magic when the creature that had been guarding the Sidhe noble had caught us by surprise from in the darkness of barn.

I usually shoot first and ask questions later as I have done in the past and had hurled a force at the demon while forgetting that Sidhe magic had not worked.

Molly had taken the ring and placed it on her finger so she had been momentarily distracted with the increase of power.

What freaked me out was her eyes. As the winter mantle had taken her over, she began to have a shift in her eyes from the familiar color to a more Sidhe color along with a mixture of an iris that looked like a cats, to a human looking iris and then back again. It had only lasted that split moment but It was the fact that I was staring so intently at her eyes, that I saw the reflection of the swamp demon and was able to retaliate.

Molly had not noticed my staring at her which was just as well, because since we had taken on this role, she had even more of a desire for me then before and had often tried to sate it.

I had rebuffed her and Molly understood, having had an unfortunate complication with the last guy she dated. Truthfully, it wasn't the mantle that had caused the problem but Mab's idea of balance that had caused the issue.

Molly was still not over the guy and I wasn't ready to get into anything serious anyway.

It was clear that the previous winter lady and knight had had all kinds of fun but they were also psychopathic murders.

The urge was still there though. The mantle pulling Molly and I closer together and pushed us to become more and more involved with each other.

It had been a struggle to keep things platonic between us, especially with Mab's constant intervening to try and coax Molly and me into the same room with little to no clothing.

Arctis Tor seemed to be more of a whore house then a fortress these days as every day Mab would send me to Molly's chambers in less and less of a uniform to help with this or that.

I had never fallen for it and neither had Molly but she was a gorgeous woman and though I never sated my urges, Molly was intensely aware of how my body reacted around her, especially with less and less clothing to conceal.

The ring had been created in any case and Molly had warned me that only the person who was wearing it could take it off or put it on. If it was forcibly removed by another party, they would meet a sticky end. So we were very careful around the ring.

It also changed shape and color in relation to who was wearing it. On Molly's finger, it became silver and blue azure, while the ring's look changed to mimic a crown all the way around her finger with little azure gemstones encircling it.

On my finger, it became a duller gray with a black heart in the center. Molly couldn't tell me what it meant but she assured me that for now it would work for her purposes.

“Well,” I said standing up behind the haystack, “I think we need to find another way to get in there, it might be time to ask for some help.”

“I am the winter lady, I do not need help.” Molly said with a certain fire in her eyes that told me that she really meant it.

She raised her hands and began to call down the elements. Ice and a lot of it. Heading straight towards the tiny barn in the middle of the field.

“I'll shatter that barn and then we can get the Sidhe noble out in the confusion.” She said with conviction.

Ice came from all directions and began to shred the little barn, but for every piece of ice hurled at the roof of the surface, there seemed to be steam coming up and the barn roof only looked like it had a been hit with a light shower.

“Nice try,” I said, “but we already determined that Sidhe magic did not work against the creature so whatever is protecting it is also protecting the barn”.

“Ah,” she said “of course. Ok then, give me back the mantle and you can try with your magic.” She held out her ring finger to receive the mantle but at that moment my head started swimming as this new sensation and image of Molly and I standing in front of a minister.

I jerked back from her quickly and near fell over. “Harry! Are you ok?” She helped me to steady myself as I pulled the ring off my finger and replaced it on hers once more much to the same effect.

I stood up and began to gather in my will. This was much harder without the mantle but I was still a wizard damn it and I was conjuring way before the mantle and I would still be one after. It just gave me a very strong feeling of being utterly weak.

I closed my eyes and held my hand toward the barn roof and said “Fuego!.”

I didn’t have my blasting rod so I was not clear what would happen. In the split second after I released the energy did I remember where we were standing.

The haystack that Molly and I had been behind suddenly caught fire and began to burn from my spell.

Fortunately for us, Molly's magic worked outside the barrier of the barn and she quickly doused out the fire which a bit of ice magic, Though by a bit, I mean that she hurled a blizzard right to our location that covered me and the rest of the field with ice.

It put the fire out yes, but without the mantle It almost gave me frostbite.

I stood there shivering and said, “Thanks Molly. I wasn't thinking.”

My blasting rod was still in the barn, as I had dropped it in my haste to depart.

“Sorry Harry,” she said and held her fingers out in front of her to attempt a heat spell to help me warm up.

“Wwwait!” I said. “Why don't you just conjure me up a bbblanket?”

“Oh,” she said slightly embarrassed. “Sorry Harry.” And immediately snapped up a blanket to wrap around me.

She barely even needed to think it in order for it to appear having both mantles in her possession.

“Now what should we do,” she said?

Without your blasting rod and my increased magic along with my impotency I'm not sure how we can win here.

As I felt the warmth returning to me, I said “Molly, I think it's time to get some help.”

Her pride was stung but the Molly I knew showed through her defiance and she reluctantly agreed.

She lifted her hand and removed the ring of the winter knight mantle and once again put it on my finger.

She then sliced the sky with her hand and opened up a way.

A magical pathway between this world and the never never.

“I've made a record of this spot so we can come back to it without having to search again.”

“Ok, let's go back to your place and we can regroup.”

So we went through the way and headed back to chicago.

Ways through the never never are very treacherous and not something to be taken lightly. However, being the winter lady and winter knight, nothing much bothered us on our way.

Molly's place was given to her by the Svartovs in recognition of something she had done for them last winter.

It was a huge place and Molly made every use of it possible.

Mostly living on Arctis tor, she stayed there whenever she could.

We arrived at her apartment and went inside. I had barely noticed, but on the way back, Molly seemed to have something she wanted or didn't want to tell me.

“Um Harry, There is something I need to tell you before we go up to my apartment. I have a new roommate. She stays and tends to the place when I stay in Arctis tor. She pretty much works nights so I barely see her but you do know her. It's Marci from the Alphas.”

“Oh,” I said. “That's interesting.” I hadn't seen much of the Alphas since the last time we all fought together.

“I'm surprised that she was ok with being the roommate of the Winter lady,” I said.

“Yeah,” Molly said, “It was a bit weird at first but I told her, that I was just a person like anyone else and that I needed a roommate.”

We got up to Molly's place. “Marci,” She called “Are you home? A groan and a “yeah” came from one of the far rooms.” The door opened and in walked marci wearing a long overshirt over her modest breasts that went down to her ankles with a little kitten on the front that said “Hang in there !” while it dangled from a tree branch.

She yawned and wiped her eyes.

Finally looking up she saw me and her eyes went wide. “Harry!” She said. And quickly ran back for her room, Covering her breasts with her arms as she ran. She appeared moments later with a sweater and pants. “Sorry about that, I didn't know you had company” she said, giving Molly a hard look.

“It's ok,” I said, “I was fine with what you had on.” Marci blushed when I said that and tried desperately to change the subject.

“So,” she said, “what have you two been up to?”

“Oh, it's winter business. Sorry Marci.”

“Oh,” Marci said, clearly taken aback and trying not to show it. “I get it.”

“Just let me grab some coffee and then I'll be out of your way.”

She sauntered over to the cupboard as Molly and I came all the way into the apartment and headed for the living room.

With a clatter of dishes, clink of spoon and pouring of water, Marci tried to act like she wasn't listening but it was plain to see that she was very interested in what the two of us had been up to.

Molly and I made small talk while we waited for Marci to finish her coffee making. Marci, disgusted that we weren't going to talk around her, took a sip of her coffee and headed back to her room.

When she was gone, Molly gave a swipe of her wrist and we were enclosed in a half sphere of some blue liquid.

“There are disadvantages to having a roommate when it comes to winter business. She is a really great roommate otherwise though.” Molly said apologetically.

“Anyway, now that we have privacy, who were you thinking of having help us?”

“Well the fact that Sidhe magic has no effect means we will get no help from Summer or Winter.

But we have many other resources and other types of magic that should not be affected at all.

I could call on my brother and have him use his brute strength against the swamp demon creature.”

My half-brother Thomas is a vampire of the white court and has superhuman strength and agility.

But on the other hand, it might be good to have another wizard. “In the past I would have asked you but now your magic is pretty much all Sidhe correct?”

“Um,” said Molly, “I'm not sure exactly, however it has been some time since I tried to use my magic without the help of winter. I'm not sure how much use I could be. Mab would also be pretty upset I'm sure.”

“It's difficult for me to feel so utterly useless.’ Molly said. “Since becoming the winter lady, I have relied solely on my abilities that come from winter, so I feel like your apprentice again, with no knowledge and no way to help.”

“Molly,’ I said “Being an apprentice is always going to be difficult but we are always learning. I know that if the two of us were sent by Mab that she knows that we are the ones for the job.”

“Perhaps for now, you can research if there is any connection between the she nobles that have been taken.

From what Mab told us, there have been three high ranking nobles. I will weigh our options and decide who might have the skills that i need” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is called upon by Karrin Murphy to investigate a nearby circus. A curious character has asked for Harry by name and says that he knew his father. At the circus, Harry meets an old friend of his father's and is given a book that he had been holding onto since Harry's father's demise. Later, Molly goes missing and Harry is on the trail to find her.

Molly seemed upset to have to be the apprentice once more but she said she would try to look for some connections. 

As I rounded the corner to my apartment there was a car parked right outside. I pulled up to get out of the car and was greeted by a 5.5 woman with dark brown hair.   
She had a police badge on her belt and she wore a leather brown jacket with dark blue jeans. 

She looked like someone's favorite aunt but Karrin Murphy was definitely more then she seemed.

“Dresden,” she said as she got out of her car “Where have you been? I have been calling and calling so I just decided to drop by.”

“Sorry Murph, I was out with Molly on winter business and we just got back.   
What’s up?”

“I got something I want you to take a look at,” she said. “Oh,” I said. “Not Something from SI?”

“Yeah, Rawlings said that this is something out of the realm of SI.” Translation something he doesn’t want to deal with. There is a magician in town, Madson Golthu. Apparently, he knew your father.”

“My father??” I said. My father Malcolm Dresden had been a magician here in Chicago. He died when I was very young from a car crash. Another magician who knew my father? How could this be? I mean I had a feeling that Dad had known other magicians but I never thought I would actually meet any of them.   
“How did he know my father?” I asked Murphy.  
“Oh, well according to Rawlings, Madson mentioned that your father and he had been in a three man show at one point in his career.  
“They were called the “Three magic men” and they had their last show a few years before you were born.”  
I just stood there dumbfounded.   
“Uh ok Murph, lead the way, I definitely have some questions for this magic man..”  
I guess contacting Elaine would have to wait for now, 

The Dunsop Circus of Thrills and wonders was situated in the middle of a field on the outskirts of Chicago.   
Murphy drove as we pulled into the parking lot. 

The tent was at least 5 stories high. Around the exterior of the tent there were various carnies doing a variety of tasks to get the circus ready. Several men were securing a few lines on the tent.   
An elephant was being led into the back of the tent by several others.   
A group of acrobats were warming up stretching on the left side of the tent. As well as a group of fire swallowers were practicing their fire swallowing on the fright.   
At the entrance to the tent was a robust looking gentleman with a striped suit, bull whip, and top hat. It was clear that he was the ringmaster. Behind him was a 7 foot tall strong man, whose muscles were bulging through his similarly striped onesie.

Murphy and I approached the ringmaster.   
“My name is Karrin Murphy and this is my consultant Harry Dresden. We are looking for Mr. Golthu, Detective Rawlings sent us.”

“Hello Miss Murphy. My name is Felix Dunsop and I am the ringleader of this fine establishment. This is my associate Flex.”

Flex lived up to his name and flexed his entire body in response with a wicked smile.   
“Flex, would you show them to Mr Golthu’s trailer,” Felix said.  
Flex grunted and began to walk away. Karrin and I proceeded to follow him into the tent. 

Inside the tent was a flurry of activity. Trapeze artists were hanging from wires up in the air, Elephants and clowns were walking around on the inside on the circle. The audience wrapped around the pit and had a few patrons watching the warm up activities. Flex led us behind the stage and around underneath one of the stands to a second door.   
As we walked through we noticed the familiar scent of popcorn, cotton candy and other typical accoutrements of Carney fair. 

Outside the tent were six trailers. Each one as individual as the other. The first trailer was covered in lace and pink bows. The words “Dahlia the magnificent” were written in large letters on a banner that covered the trailer from left to right. The second trailer was a stark contrast being a dull gray color with a sensible plaque that said “Banta the mystic”. The third trailer showed an array of magic items. A bunny was painted on the side, a small deck of cards and a top hat were also painted in various areas. The words the Great Madson Golthu was written in gold across the top. It had also faded but had very clearly been repainted a few times to maintain. 

Flex went up to knock on the door. As he did I glanced to the other trailers that adorned the backlot.  
The first two were nearly identical except for the words that said the Great Ronstons/ Trapeze family which was written on a banner that connected the two trailers. These trailers were by far the newest having barely let the paint dry. You could smell the fresh paint smell as well. 

The last trailer was larger than the rest and said along the front of it “Gert, The fat lady.”   
It looked like a trailer that you might find in any mobile home park complete with flowers and a light post with temporary stone steps leading up to the door.

The door to Madson’s trailer opened and a tall dark man greeted us. He was dressed in a very lavish outfit complete with a sequined jacket, tux pants, a top hat and white shirt that poked out from the top of his jacket. He had very large and bushy eyebrows with tufts of hair poking out of his shirt top. As well in the front and the back. 

“Hello Mr Madson, I am Karrin Murphy and this is my consultant, Harry Dres..” 

“Hello, Harry” he interrupted with a very thick mediterranean accent. “I never thought I would see the day.”

He walked over to us and wrapped me in a large bear hug. I’m not a short man, at least 6 foot tall and I am not a lightweight either, having been subjected to   
Mab’s rather unorthodox training regime to become the winter knight. However, this man made me look like a little child.

“Miss Murphy,” he said, letting me go and leaning down to shake her hand. He almost had to lean completely over to greet her, “Sorry to interrupt but I was very excited to meet this man.”   
Murphy was used to people being larger than her and did not seem to notice nor care about the height difference. 

“Good day Mr. Golthu. I understand that you have something to talk to us about.”  
“Yes,” he said. “Please come in. Thank you Flex, I can take it from here.”  
I hadn’t noticed that Flex was still standing there, glaring at us.

It seemed like he was ready to fight, but he grunted and started to head back to the tent. 

From the first trailer, the door banged open and a vision of loveliness stepped out. Dahlia the beautiful also lived up to her name. She wore a gossamer gown of sequins and lace that went from her toes to her shoulders. Her breasts were very much accentuated from the gown. Around her wrists were several bracelets of gold and silver. Adorning her ears, were diamonds earrings that added to her look. She looked like she could be a model, except for the expression on her face.

“Miss Dahlia,” Flex said, with a grunt. Dahlia may have been beautiful, but it was clear that it was only skin deep.   
The scowl on her face had clearly been commonplace. She looked like she would rather be anywhere but there.   
She started to make her way out of her trailer. She had high heels and it made it somewhat difficult to navigate the steps of the trailer. She nearly tripped but covered it well. At the foot of her trailer was a green turf that went from her trailer to the entrance of the tent. Dahlia, walking as if she were heading for an award at the Parthenon strolled casually down to the entrance of the tent swaying as she went. Flex, having noticed her approach held out his hand in a way that was clearly commonplace to both of them. She grabbed it and ducked her head to make her way into the tent. Atop her White blond hair she had a very large headdress which was also white with peacock feathers and very tall. It looked like she would fall over but she maintained as she and Flex went out of sight.

Murphy and I headed up the small stairs into Madson’s trailer. The inside was much smaller than it looked on the outside. A couch was pulled out on the far right side of the trailer and was strewn with various costumes and magic implements. A top hat, cards, and a wand were carefully placed on the table next to the couch, ready for the master to pick them up for this next act. The rest of the trailer consisted of a small kitchenette and a cupboard with a few dishes.

Behind that, the trailer had a small hallway to a bathroom, a small closet and a room with a small twin bed. It was hard to see from where we were at, but I made out the distinct impression of a book slightly covered with clothing and other debris. 

“Please,” he said, “make yourself comfortable and I will tell you why I have called you here. I am sure Harry that you are curious.” 

“As Miss Murphy no doubt told you I knew your father many years ago before his death. He and I were part of a three man team called the Three magic men. It was I, your father and another musician named Nicholas Sherome. We traveled around the country performing for many crowds and circuses.” 

“For several years we wowed audiences with our particular magics. My specialty is illusion and I would mystify and conjure illusion and fantasy, your father’s specialty was slight of hand and he was able to make people disappear, cut people in half, rabbit from the hat etc. But Sherome’s specialty was in death-defying and stunt magic. He once made an entire car disappear after having the line cut as it was hanging above his head on a live stage. Covered only with a cloth, the car was gone and Sherome was unharmed to the disbelief of the audience.” 

“We all had a wonderful time.... until a show in Chicago where your father met his wife Margaret. She was also interested in the magic arts but much more interested in being with your father then letting him be a magician.”

“She would constantly ask him how his tricks were done, offer to help out in whatever way she could, but it was obvious to us that he was unable to focus while she was around.”   
“For the next few years, your father and her were inseparable. It became like an obsession for the both of them.  
He was always trying to make his magic more believable, more mystifying and more easy to conjure and manipulate.” 

“Your mother being a true wizard, yes I am aware of your mother’s magical talents as well as you Harry. Being a true wizard, he would always ask her to share any secret that she would dare. Your mother was concerned with your father’s safety and would always decline.   
But like I said, your father was obsessed. He began to research true and very real magic books.”

“The book that ultimately tore your parents apart was this one.”   
He went to the other room and grabbed the book that had been lying there and brought it to show Murphy and I. 

The book was called “Codex of The Spirit of Dark and Light” and had gold binding with a brown cover. It was locked with a worn keyhole on the front and a very real looking clasp.  
“Your father had discovered the key to opening this book and had wanted to open it to discover it’s secrets,” Madson continued.

“Your mother knew what trouble real magic was and did her best to try and convince your father that no good could come of it.  
She tried and tried to get him to give it up but he was not one to leave an idea, always up for a challenge and stubborn as you please.”

“Hmm,” said Murphy “I wonder what that’s like.” Eyeing me as she said it. I just grunted and gestured for him to continue.

“Ultimately, he did open the book and had started to work with some very dark magics.  
It was around this time, that your mother became pregnant with you, which was no small miracle based on your father’s obsession.”

“She was concerned for your and your father’s safety so she hid the book from him until you were born. When your mother passed on, it was in her will to give it back to him in the hopes that he would use it for good and not evil.”

I sat there speechless. I mean this man was telling me that my dad, a magician had actually dealt with black magic and had become obsessed with it, and that my mother tried to stop him. 

“This is all a lot to take in,” I told him. “I always thought my father was on the straight and narrow.   
He seemed like the most ordinary, boring run of the mill magician. But you are telling me that he and my mother kept this book a secret from me my whole life.”

“Also,” Murphy said, “I don’t understand why I am here. Was there a murder involved? I believe you had said something about a murder, or a disappearance.”

“Yes, Miss Murphy, there was a disappearance and that is why you are here. Our third member, Nicholas Sherome, did not like how Dresden’s father was using the book and tried to hide it away again.”

“To my knowledge, after your father’s death, the book was never mentioned again. It was just assumed that Nicholas still had it and was keeping it safe.” 

“However, 2 days ago, He went missing.   
He and I were all set to do our 2 man show, kind of like those two magicians but without the tigers, and he was suddenly gone, he wasn’t in his trailer, and the last anyone heard from him, he was putting on his stage makeup and readying himself for the show.”

“Are you sure that he didn’t just leave?” Murphy asked. “Perhaps the pressure had gotten to be too much for him.” 

“Miss Murphy,” Madson said. “Nicholas Sherome was a supreme professional. He would never leave right before a show like that. No one saw him leave or exit his trailer.. As you may well know there is not much privacy being that all your neighbors are constantly in your business and looking out their window.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Murphy asked.

“Well,” said Madson. “We had had a rather odd conversation a few nights before.   
Sherome and I were sitting in his trailer discussing the next show when he started shaking and banged his fist down on the table saying that he didn’t think we had learned enough, like our magic show needed to be bigger, better, more realistic.” he kind of sounded like Malcolm a little bit.

I told him that there are always limits to what can be done with illusion magic. He was very upset and said that maybe he didn’t want to do illusion magic anymore.   
I was concerned that he might be talking about the dark magic's in that book, so I asked him about it, but he would not admit anything and quickly changed the subject.”

“That’s odd,” I said “Because you would think that the keeper of the tome would not want to use it, but keep it safe.” 

“How did you end up with it?” Murphy asked.   
“When I confronted Nicholas about it, he denied everything and said that if I was suspicious of the book that I should just take it. So I did and I’ve been keeping it safe.”

Madson suddenly looked very tired. “I apologize, but I haven’t slept much since his disappearance. Is there anything more?

“No, Mr. Golthu,” I said. “But I would like to borrow the book and see if there any clues in there to Mr. Sherome’s disappearance.”

“Yes, yes of course. I do hope that he comes back soon. A 2 man show is hard to do with only one man.”

We thanked Mr. Golthu and headed out of the trailer and back towards the tent. We were nearly to the tent when we heard “Hello Maddy” in a southern accent and a voice sweeter than molasses from behind us. We turned to see Gert the fat lady coming out of her trailer. She was rather large and had to turn sideways to get out of the trailer door. 

“Are you feeling better honey?”She said “I’ve been worried sick about you.” 

Madson gave us a glance and a nod towards the tent as if to say, “you should get out of here before she sees you two.”

Murphy and I headed back into the tent. We saw the trapeze family undoubtedly the Great Ronstons practicing. 

High up in the top of the tent, two teenagers were swinging back and forth and jumping off to be caught by the other teen, flipping off to the same advantage, and standing on the trapeze. 

On the other side of the tent were two adults. One male, one female. They were swinging together holding each other's hands from one trapeze as well. The entire group wore shiny sequined onesies and were very strong-looking. 

“Ok Ronstons, that’s enough.” Felix said as he came out into the middle of the pit and beckoned for each of them to come down. “You need to rest up for the big show tonight.” 

Slowly and carefully, each of the Ronstons came down off their contraptions and headed towards the trailers. Murphy and I had to step to the side to let them pass and noticed that each of them had small bruises and scrapes on their faces and bodies. 

“Hello,” they each said as they passed us. Apparently not wanting to get into any more of a conversation than that. 

“Ah, Mr Dresden and Miss Murphy,” Felix said. “I trust you found everything you needed?? It’s getting near showtime and we really must prepare. Do you have any more questions, otherwise I’ll have to ask you to come back tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said Murphy. “Madson had mentioned that Mr. Sherome disappeared 2 days ago. Did you have any conversation with him before he left.”

“Ah, No Miss. I have not. I went to his trailer to let him and Madson know of the curtain call and there was no response.  
Madson attempted to do the show on his own, but we had a lot of upset customers.   
The big show tonight is an apology to the people that wanted their money back. Instead of dealing with that, we gave them a ticket to tonight's show so everyone must be at their best. If we have another bad show, it could ruin me..” 

“Now, if you'll excuse me..”

Dunsop hustled away to another side of the tent where there was a short man with a purple turban sitting in front of a crystal ball. He was wearing a purple and white pirate type shirt and billowy pants. His table had a small banner with “Banda the mystic” Also in purple. Felix barely even noticed the man and hurriedly went past him nearly knocking the poor man over to talk to Dahlia who he appeared in the far corner of the tent looking upset, or maybe just looking normal, she seemed to have the same look on her face either way. 

“Why do you think people come to see anyone as sour as that?” I whispered to Murphy.   
As soon as Dahlia saw that Felix was coming towards her, her demeanor changed in an instant. Her upset face changed to pouty. 

“Felix darling, I’m so glad you’ve come, that large woman has continued to bother me when all I want to do is get ready. She’s simply awful darling, must we have her in the show. I think I am woman enough don’t you think.” She said, taking on a jessica rabbit look. Felix said something to her that we could not hear and she turned and slinked away saying “Of course darling, but only for you,” she said as she walked away. 

At this point, Flex appeared and gave us a look to let us know it was time for us to leave. 

However, Murphy being stubborn went over to Flex and said “I have a few more questions.  
“Sorry Miss, Big show. Come back tomorrow,” and stepped back to let Murphy and I leave through the large tent door. 

“Well,” I said. There was a lot going on there.   
“What do you make of it Murph?”  
“Well, it's clear that someone is hiding something. It’s also curious that your father was a part of this troupe and was drawn into dark magic.” 

“We should take a closer look at this book and see what is so important about it,” I said. 

Murphy and I walked over to a table on the far end of the field where we were out of the way of entering patrons and carneys. 

“Let’s take a look at this book,” I said. Putting it on the table between us. 

The inside cover had some odd scribblings that were probably an old forgotten language.   
However the front page was written in Script that said Codex of The spirit of dark and light. 

Each consecutive page had spells. Many, many types of spells. Spells for earth magic, spells for fire magic, spells for bringing back the dead, spells for causing another to take their own life and even spells for wealth and fame. 

“Harry,” Murphy said. “What do you think? Is this book legit.”   
“I don’t know murph. But if it is, i'm surprised the White council isn’t all over it.   
This book would be really dangerous in the wrong hands if these things were true.”

I looked at one page that said Earth magic.   
“Help your crops grow with this magic word and these specific items sprinkled into each of the holes before you plant your seeds.”

Another page said Fire Magic - Harness the light. Create fire in your hand.  
It listed a few ingredients, one that I noticed that was in every single spell was Vial of Light, or Vial of Dark.

The Dark magic spells contained Vial of dark and likewise for the light.

“Here look at this,” Murphy said. “This one says 3 vials of light. While this one only says 2.” 

“Here is another that lists 7 vials of light. And another that says Vial of Extreme Darkness as well.”

“But I don’t understand, what could these vials be? You can’t capture light or darkness in a vial.” “And these spells,” Murphy said. “Here is another one to stop time.”   
Could this possibly be real? It needs a vial of extreme darkness and extreme Light to accomplish as well as the tears of a newborn and an inherited pocket watch. 

Page after page with vial of light, vial of extreme light, and vial of extreme darkness.   
What could this mean, I wondered. 

Then I turned the page to the Last spell.   
Bringing back the dead =- Light/dark magic.

Spell to bring back the dead  
1 vial of Supreme Darkness  
1 vial of supreme light  
1 vial of light gifted  
1 vial of dark gifted  
1 vial of the risen  
1 vial of the fallen  
1 drop of the conceived

Mix all ingredients together and pour over the corpse. 

I stared at the page. Bring back the dead? Could this? No, could it really bring back Susan, or perhaps Kirby from the Alphas, Could it bring back mom or even dad?

I closed the book and pushed it away.

“Harry,” Murphy said. “You can’t really believe that book is really real. It just couldn’t possibly be.” 

“I know Murphy,” I said. “I know.” But deep down, I really kind of wanted it to be true. Susan, or mom and dad or any of the countless other people that had died while I had been doing the right thing. 

But what were these ingredients? How could it be true?  
“Listen Murph, I think I need to do some research on this book. I’ll take it back to my place and let you know what I find.”

“Ok,” said Murphy. “While you do that, I will see if I can get anything on these carnies. They all seem to have something they aren’t telling us.   
I need to come back tomorrow and question Flex as well.”

Murphy drove me back to Molly’s then. “Be careful,” she said. “IF that is real, it could be very dangerous so promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Come on Murph,” I said. “Even if this is real, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to gather any of the ingredients. I will be fine.”

She rolled up the window and headed off.   
I buzzed Molly’s apartment and waited for her to open the door. No answer. I buzzed again and this time there was a click and someone started talking.

“Uh Hello?” I heard from the other end of the line. It was a groggy voice that sounded like they had just woken up. 

“Marci?” I asked. “This is Harry Dresden. Is Molly home?”

“Uh no Harry she went out to pick up some groceries. We were out of coffee and she said that she didn’t like to work without it.”

Damn, I thought. I told her to stay here.   
“Ok marci, do you know which store she went to?”

Marci told me the store and I hurriedly walked down the street towards the corner grocery store.  
I knew that Molly could take care of herself but I was still worried.

I rounded the corner and headed into the store.   
“Molly,” I called. At the front corner was an older woman who gave me an odd look and a scrawny tennager behind another counter with the name Greg. Greg didn’t look like much. His clothes were crumpled and wrinkled. He looked like he had just woken up. 

“Have you seen a girl with purple and black hair?” 

Greg thought for a moment. Which really looked like it took a lot of effort. But he finally said. 

“Oh, you mean Molly.   
Yeah, Molly’s here Check the back wall of the store. That’s where she typically goes for milk and eggs.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since she came in. But there’s no other exit for the public.”

Greg went with me to the back of the store to look for Molly. 

“She comes in here all the time,” he said as we walked to the back. “Her and Marci I mean.” 

“Ever since she moved in, they come in about once or twice a week. Really nice girls, but that Molly she sometimes freaks me out. I don’t know if she just seems different I guess. I don’t know how to explain it.”

We made it to the back of the store and Molly was nowhere to be seen. “Hey Charlie,” Greg called seemingly to the ceiling. From the back, there was a yell. “Yeah Greg. Did you happen to see Molly leave?”   
“No man, I saw her walk around to aisle 4 and then I had to take a leak. Sorry dude.”

Greg sighed. “Naw, that’s alright man. “

“Let's go see if she is on aisle 4.” We rounded the corner and did not see anything. 

“Huh,” he said. “I guess not.”

As we walked back down the aisle to the front of the store, I opened up my wizards senses. This is how a wizard can sense the magic around them and could tell me if there was any magic used in the area as well as if there is any magical residue.

There was a definite trace of magical energy in the aisle but it was very faint.  
I would need to use my sight to be sure. A wizard's sight is like a third eye that wizards can use to see through veils, sense magics around and see things for what they truly are.

The bad thing about a wizard's sight is that whatever you see, stays with you permanently. So it’s important not to use the sight to look at anything that you are not totally sure about because it can drive you insane if you aren’t careful.

“I’ll be right up,” I told Greg. “I want to see if Molly left any clues.” 

Greg gave me a “is this guy a freak or what?” look and continued up to the front.

I made sure no one was coming around the corner or anywhere near. The store was relatively empty. 

“Attention shoppers. The store will be closing in 15 minutes. Please take your purchases up to the counter. Thank you.” Greg's voice from the loudspeaker. 

I didn’t have much time. I opened my sight. Grocery stores have a kind of energy to them. Unlike a house where people live, there is no threshold per se, but there is an energy of constant comings and goings. People living out their lives. Thousands of people go in and out of a grocery store daily.

It was difficult to pick out the Sidhe energy through all the energy pulsing throughout the store. If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn that the store was a lei line. So much energy. 

I saw the faint energy that I knew was Molly’s, suddenly stopping and diminishing.   
I had never seen anything like it. It was as if Molly’s presence was there one moment and then the next had been wiped away. 

I didn’t know how and I didn’t know why. but i knew that Molly was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry muses on how they were able to capture Molly and decides to take the Book to Bob to see what he can make of it.

How were they able to capture her?   
I got a sinking feeling. Were these the same people that were able to keep a Sidhe noble bound in a sphere? If they got a hold of Molly too...

I called Murphy and told her what had happened.   
“Dresden, are you sure she was kidnapped.” Lowering her voice she asked “Isn’t she supposed to be supremely powerful?”

“Yes, Murph. Not just anybody could sneak up and grab Molly. Especially now, being the winter lady” I said in a hushed whisper as two grocery patrons made their way down the aisle.

“Meet me at Molly’s. I need to make a stop and I’ll be there in an hour.”

I made my way out of the store as Greg announced that the store would close in 5 minutes. 

Waldo Butters was a medical examiner that lived in a little house on the edge of town. Since I had died and come back to life, he had made himself the person in charge of my old helper. Bob the skull.  
Bob wasn’t really a skull, he was a spirit of intellect. The skull was just where he escaped from the daylight so he did not get destroyed.

I stood on Butter’s porch and knocked. I remember the last time I had been there as the winter knight, I had stolen Bob and tried not to involve my old friends. 

Now, Butter’s was one of the Knight’s of the cross. Last summer, he had been given the sword of faith by yours truly. I was throwing the sword to Charity, Micheal’s wife, to fight off an attack but it had missed her and fallen straight into Butter’s outstretched hand and he had saved the day and all of our lives.

I wasn’t even sure if he would be home. 

“Hello, Harry.” A short blond woman answered the door. Andi was Butter’s girlfriend and also an Alpha. One of a group of kids who many years ago had learned a cool trick of being able to turn into wolves. She and Butters had gotten together a few years ago. 

“Hello Andi, it’s been a long time.” “Yes, she said.” “It has been. It’s kind of late Harry. What can I do for you.”  
“Listen, I said I’m in a bit of a bind, and I could really use Bob’s council. Is Butters’ around?”  
“No,” said Andi, he is out with the knights training on using his new sword.

“Bob is in the Den. Why don’t you come on in?” she said sleepily. Andi was dressed in a loose fitting sweater and some baggy sweatpants that hid a bit of her shapeliness. However, she would also be able to get out of them in a hurry in case something wolfy needed to happen. 

“Andi, I know that the last time I came in here, it was to steal Bob, I just want to let you know that that is not my intention now or ever again.” 

“Thank you Harry,” she said. “That means a lot.”   
She lead me into their den where a plain white skull was sitting in the middle of the table. Romance novels and other not so family friendly pictures were strewn across the table.

“Bob,” Andi said. “You have a visitor.” The skull turned and said. “Ah, Hello Sahib, Long time.”

“Yeah Bob, how are you liking it here?”   
The skull’s eye sockets danced with an orange light. 

Bob had at one time been my helper. I had taken him from my old mentor Justin Demorn after his death, which I had caused but to be fair he was trying to cause my death at the time. Bob had been my resource on all things supernatural for many years until I made a deal with Mab and became the winter knight to save my daughter from the vampires. 

After returning from that mission, I had an old friend put a bullet through my chest to try and get out of the deal I had struck. Upon my death, Butters’ had taken the skull to keep it safe.   
Bob was a spirit of intellect and his knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Mab had broken some rules of nature to bring me back to life so I would be in her service.   
Ever since then, Bob had been in Butters’ keeping.

“I don’t have a lot of time Bob, is it alright if I ask you a few things?” 

“That’s up to the kitten” indicating Andi. “It’s alright Bob.” Andi said. “You can tell him what he needs to know.”

“Ok,” Bob said brightly. “What can I help you with. I told Bob about everything involving the circus, the kidnapped Sidhe noble, and Molly’s disappearance.” 

I didn't mention the Codex until the very end and started to pull it out of my bag.

Bob’s eyelights flashed red then orange again.

“Harry!” He said urgently. “Get that book into a circle NOW!”

I had never heard Bob be so forceful or angry before. 

Andi ran to the kitchen to grab some salt. I pricked my finger with a nearby letter opener and put the book on the other desk in the room, far away from bob. 

“Hurry!” He said. His eyelights continued to flash from red to orange getting quicker and quicker.   
The skull started to vibrate. Andi returned with the salt and I spread it around the book and pushed my finger to the circle to activate it. 

I felt a surge of power leave me as the circle went up.

Bob the skull stopped thrashing around immediately.

“What the hell were you thinking bringing that book here?!” Bob demanded.

“I don't know Bob, Murphy and I weren’t even sure if it was real. I brought it over to ask if you knew anything about it, Which you clearly do.”

“What just happened?” Andi asked. 

Bob was silent and his eyelights shrunk to pinpoints. 

“HE was coming.” Bob said softly but with incredible menace.

“He,” I said, “He who was coming, Bob? I don't have time for 20 questions.”

“You know, HE, the other me, my other half. Evil Bob, He was coming.”

“What! I said incredulously. How could evil bob come back? You severed your connection with him back when I asked you to and no one could ever summon him.”

“Well yes,” Bob said. “But that was my knowledge about the word of Kemler. This is knowledge about a completely different subject which I still have knowledge about that is connected to Evil Bob. If that book is out of the circle around me for too long, I don’t know if I can keep Evil Bob at Bay.. and he may return attached to that tiny ray of knowledge involving that book.”

I shuddered. The last time I had seen evil bob, he had gotten together in the never-never with an old enemy of mine and had been defeated by bob, my bob or at least that’s what I had thought at the time.   
Apparently my bob had just kept him at bay until we made it out of the never never and then had recombined with him.

“Bob!” I yelled. “How could you recombine with him. I didn’t tell you to do that.”

“Well,” Bob said. “You didn’t tell me not to. You told me to stop him and so I did. I recombined with him and locked him away again.”   
:Come on Harry, If I hadn’t done that, you never would have defeated that psychopath.” 

I found a chair in the room and sat down. “Oh Bob, I can’t believe you did that.  
I just can’t believe it.”

“Well it’s true,”” Bob said. That side of me is once more locked away where it can do no more damage or team up with any of your enemies in the never never.” 

“However, being around the Codex makes it hard for me to keep him at bay.  
That book holds the answers Harry. The answers to everything, and if my other half had access to even just one page well, there are certain pages that he couldn’t do much with but with a few of them, he could tear reality in two.”

“Yikes,” I said. “Do you have any knowledge of the book that you can access without using that side of you?”  
“Sadly not, Old Boss.” 

“And every moment that Evil Bob is here, Is another moment that he can try and kill both of you.”

Andi and I exchanged a look.   
“Harry,” she said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for that book to be in the house. Maybe I should take Bob in the other room while you take that book out of here.” 

“No, wait,” I said. “I need to know what this book means. It's clear that it’s real, but I don’t understand these ingredients.”

“I need to consult Evil Bob.”

“Harry,” Andi said, “that's crazy.”  
“Boss that’s suicide.” Bob said.

“Maybe,” I said “but maybe I can contain him just long enough with an empowered circle.” 

“Forget it,” Bob said. “I hate being in circles. I feel trapped and it’s very scary for me.”

“Bob,” I said, “I really need to know about this book. Molly is missing and if I don’t figure this out she may die.”

“Hmm,” Bob mused. “I suppose if it’s for the cookie, I'll do it.”

“Ok, let me get a circle around you, and then I’ll open the book to the page I need answers for.” 

“I hope you know what you are doing, Harry” 

“Whatever you do, don’t let him see any of the other pages. Keep the book close to you once it is out of the circle. My evil self will be able to sense the book and will know that you have it. He may even try to trick you into bringing it over to him but you must not. If he and I are separated again, I don’t know if I would be able to catch him off guard like that again and he could be running rampant, not in the spirit realm but here in the living world. Imagine what kind of havoc he could wreak if just given the chance.” Bob shuddered. 

“It is crucial that you keep the circle intact and don’t allow anything to break it.”

“Ok,” I told Bob and began sprinkling it on the table in a small circle around him. 

“Just as before, you will let him out until the conversation is over.”

“Uh right.. former boss. I hope I don’t kill you,” Bob said. With no emotion in the voice whatsoever.

“Bob, for the entirety of this conversation, I give you permission to open your knowledge of the book Codex of Light and Darkness.”

“Good luck,” he said and went silent. The eye sockets started to flash from red to orange and then back again. 

“Get to the Book Harry!” He yelled. “He’s coming!”

I shot over to the book and held it close to me, flipping quickly to the page that I needed.

Bob’s eye sockets continued to flash from red to orange then green then finally blue.

“YOU FOOL!” Evil Bob Screamed. “You have brought me back and this time there is nothing you can do to keep me from destroying you and leaving your wretched corpse to fester.”

The eye sockets glowed and started drifting out of the skull.   
“I CAN FINALLY LEAVE THIS...What!!”   
Bob shouted as he hit the barrier that my circle had created. 

Bob went silent again.. “Ah,”...He said, “I see you’ve learned from our last encounter.   
But how long do you think your pitiful circle will hold me?”

“I have knowledge that you could not hope to have in millions of years as a wizard. I could kill you where you stand.”  
“Why have you summoned your death?” He asked.  
“Wait, WAIT a minute,” he said. “YOU have the codex??? Can It be? Years of searching and you just come across it just like that?”

“What are you, Harry Dresden!? How can this be?” He said again.

“Listen Evil Bob, I need some information about the codex and I know that you are the only one who can help me.  
I’m prepared to offer you an exchange.”   
“I’m listening, “ He said.   
“Help me to understand this book, and I will give you the words from the page you so desperately seek.”

“Uh, Harry,” Andi said. “Didn’t Bob, I mean good Bob say..”.

“Quiet,” I hissed at her.

Bob’s eyelights flicked from me to Andi and then back again.

“Aha!” he said. As if he realized something of importance.

“A deal you say. What knowledge do you seek? You show me the last page in the book and I will share with you my knowledge of any other page.”

I thought for a moment. It would probably be a bad idea for even good bob to know the page from which I was seeking information so I turned to the previous page which read Earth magic Grow your crops with a few magic words and this potion.

“This page,” I said to Evil Bob. “Tell me what this page means.”

Evil Bob was silent for a dangerous second. “Crops!” He hissed. “You want to know how to grow CROOOOPSS!!!” he screamed.   
That book is so much more useful than crops!!” 

“With the spells in that book, I could rearrange time, space, change the future, the past or the never-never.  
What a waste to have it all into the hands of such a simpleton,” he spat.

“Be that as it may Bob, Tell me what I want to know. What are these ingredients and how do i get them?”

“You really are an idiot you know.” Evil Bob said, taking on an ominous tone that was getting softer.

“It’s obvious, plain as the nose on your face. You acquire a vial of light, add a few dashes of fertilizer and sprinkle it into the holes. Of all the idiotic spells to use I can't possibly..”

“Bob,” I said. “What is a vial of light and how do you acquire it?” 

Bob, the skull turned to me and began to laugh. A purely horrific laugh that made me shudder.

“You fool,” he said again. “You couldn’t have figured it out yourself? What a bore. The Vials of light come from summer, dark from winter.”

“You collect the essence by entrapping them. How to do this is anybody's guess but it must be doable or it wouldn’t be in the book now would it?”

I was dumbfounded. Vials of light and darkness. Essences from the realm of Faerie! 

The Sidhe nobles must be the start of one of the spells. Molly and I had only seen one Sidhe noble but perhaps there were others.

“One more question,” I said to Bob. Bob the skull nodded with those creepy blue eyes. 

“How does one capture an essence once they are entrapped?”   
“Oh that’s easy,” Evil Bob said as if to a child. “You use 3 horns of Ganja which will suck the essence out of the Sidhe once ensnared and deposit it into a vessel or parcel of your choice,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Now then, I have answered all of your questions to the best of my ability and knowledge….Now SHOW ME the FINAL Page!” Bob roared as there came a wind in the tiny den. 

The book nearly flew out of my hands and started to soar over to Bob, but I had been anticipating something like this and had my hands firmly around it.

“SHOW ME!” Bob bellowed again and I kid you not, the skull began to lift off the table and slowly fly into the air.

“Show ME that I may lay waste to your precious reality, that I might finally get my revenge on those who imprisoned me.”

“Of course,” I said. Making to open the book to the last page.

“This conversation is over.” 

“Not again!!!!!!!,” Bob bellowed as the skull fell to the table once more and the eye sockets went dark.   
The wind abruptly died away. Everything in the room suddenly losing momentum and falling back to the desk or table once more.

Andi and I had fallen to the floor once the spell from bob had lost its hold. We slowly helped each other up.

“Bob,” I said. “Are you ok?”

“Harry!” he cried. “The book!”

“Oh right,” I said. And placed the book back into place inside the circle and empowered it.

Bob was still shaking and the eye sockets were flashing all different colors but he seemed to be winning.

It took a few more moments but the color of the eye sockets changed to orange once more and stayed that way.

“It’s alright now Harry. I’ve buried him again. We are safe for now. However, it’s best not to discuss with me what he told you as it would increase my knowledge and give him yet another foothold to try and terrorize the real world.”

“I’m afraid that for now, that Is all the help I can be at least as long as the book is in your possession.”

“I don’t think giving it back to whomever you got it from is a good idea but you need to find somewhere to keep it safe and nowhere near me.”  
I looked at the book for a second before finally closing it. 

The spell that Bob, Evil Bob had wanted was on that page.

The title read “Spell to change time”

What could evil bob have wanted with that page? Could he have really gone back in time? Possibly change the outcomes of our battles. I shuddered to think what that power could do.

I shut the book and tried to erase my knowledge of the spells’ ingredients.

I thanked Andi and headed back to Molly and Marci’s place.   
Marci greeted me at the intercom and buzzed me in.

When I got to her door and started to knock Marci opened it to let me in.

“Oh sorry Harry, I could hear you coming and I knew when you would be getting to the door.  
Did you have any luck finding Molly?”  
I didn’t want to worry the kid, but I didn’t know what else to tell her.  
“I think Molly has been kidnapped.” 

“Kidnapped?!” Marci all but yelled. “But how, isn’t she the winter lady and all powerful?”  
“Yes, however I believe it had something to do with a spell in this book.”

“I learned from a reliable source that in order to do this spell, the essence of winter and summer is needed as well as several other ingredients but I don’t know what they are or how to get them.”

“Ah,” Marci said. She looked hopeless and suddenly smaller. “Is there anything I can do to help you get Molly back? She was so kind letting me stay here. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her.”

“I’m not sure what you can do to help, Marci. You have no connections to any of the courts. Molly was looking for a connection between the kidnapped Sidhe nobles. But that is no longer needed as it’s clear that whoever is behind this is the one who kidnapped Molly.”

“They are trying to take her essence,” I said. “In order to fuel this spell to raise someone from the dead.”  
“But who,” Marci said. “Who are they trying to raise and Why!” She cried. Tears staining her cheeks and front of her shirt. She put her head down and began quietly sobbing.

“How could they take her?” Marci whispered over and over.

If there is one thing I hate, it’s girls crying. I know that may be chauvinistic of me but it is. Whoever took Molly was going to pay. Not just for taking her but for making Marci cry as well.

“I’m gonna find her Marci and she will be fine.”

I needed to find out what those other ingredients were, but I also needed to see if anyone else had been taken.

It was a dangerous gamble to summon this individual, especially since I was kind of their mortal enemy but if Molly was taken then it was very possible that Sarissa had been taken as well.

Sarissa was one of Mabs’ daughter but due to her other daughter’s spite and being infected by something known as Nemesis, her daughter Mav had killed the former summer lady in cold blood and though Sarissa was from winter, the summer lady's mantle was taken by her and then Molly received the winter lady’s mantle when Mab killed Mav..

I hadn’t spoken with Sarissa but I had done everything I could to help her before so I figured that she couldn’t be mad at me.

Titania on the other hand? Titania, Queen of the Light Fairies may still have held a grudge with me for slaying her daughter Aurora a few years ago when nemesis had gotten control of her.

I wished I still had my lab and my circle as I was almost defenseless in this little apartment, but time was crucial so I had to do what had to be done. 

I started my chant, “Summer Lady, Sarissa, Goddess of Light. I summon thee. Sarissa I beg an audience with thee. Sarissa I thrice ask and so it be done, appear before me.”

At first, I thought nothing had happened, but then I felt the wind of a warm summer breeze on my neck, and even though it was still night out, the room became as bright as if the sun was shining outside. Vines appeared and crept throughout the walls of the room. And then they gathered in a pile in front of me, slowly shifting and rising until a humanoid shape appeared from inside as the vines fell away. 

She wore a gown of green gossamer. Terribly gorgeous and lined with golden leaves. Her hair was golden as well, with golden leaves woven into the strands. Her very presence was warming and loving. The winter mantle was not happy about it, but I was. 

I looked up at the face and was shocked to see not the Summer lady for whom I had been summoning but the Summer Queen in all her glory. 

I nearly flinched away. Titania and I were not on good terms..  
“Good evening, knight of winter.” 

“Um, Queen Titania, I uh bid thee welcome.   
I would beg your forgiveness as it was not you who I bid,, but the summer lady.”

Her eyes shone with sudden hatred.   
“I know that mortal,” she said coldly. “You try to feign innocence with this ruse.  
It will not work on me, knight of cold.”

“You will return the summer lady to my court or risk a war with summer and I will not fail to destroy you this time!”

I stared at her in awe. It took me a minute to discover what she was implying.   
“Queen Titania, I have no idea what you are talking about. I don’t have the summer lady.” My fears apparently were real that she had been kidnapped as well.

“Queen Titania, I summoned the summer lady to see if she was aware of the whereabouts of the winter lady as she has also gone missing. I’m worried about her, but now i see that the situation is even more dire.”

“FOOL!” She bellowed. “I see through your ruse. You cannot trick me, nor give me a good reason not to kill you.”

She raised her arms above her head and the winds picked up again but these winds seemed even more dangerous and began to spin faster and faster as I frantically tried to call off the Queen of Summer’s torrent.

“Lady Titania, I don’t know how to convince you, all I know is that someone is kidnapping nobles of the court because of that book.” I pointed to the codex. Still sitting in the circle from before.

The wind abruptly ceased as quickly as it had again.

Titania looked at me with murder in her eyes. “Where did you get that book? It was believed to be lost forever in the depths of the never-never. How has it made its presence known to the mortal world?”  
That book is very dangerous, Mortal. You must give it to me to keep safe. If it falls into the wrong hands….”

“That's just it, your majesty, it already fell into the wrong hands. I have reason to believe that the book was found and someone is trying to use the book to resurrect someone or something.”

“A vial of Light and darkness gifted.” I mused “That can only mean the two ladies. Both of them were gifted the power of the summer mantles. Though it was forced, I believe the spell would still work.  
I had assumed that the vials of Light were summer and vials of darkness would be winter.”

Titania stared at me with those green eyes of hers but said nothing so I continued.

“But some of the other ingredients. I think my only way to catch these people is to think one step ahead. Is there anything you are willing to tell me for the safe return of the summer and winter ladies.”

“I’m sure that the balance of power has shifted but with both ladies gone, it’s equally deficient. Mab wouldn’t dare attack when you are equally devoid of your ladies.”

“Give me the book, winter. It must be kept out of harm. Destroyed perhaps so that it’s secrets may not make it to mortal ears or eyes.”

I ignored her as I continued musing. “At least, I said part of the spell is not correct, as I thought the Supreme Light was you and Supreme Darkness was Mab. but you are here and I have not sensed Mab having disappeared so…...I got a sinking feeling. Wait. have you spoken with Mother summer lately?”

“Do not presume to know my thoughts, mortal. Mother summer and winter are safe in their house in the never-never.”

“That’s a relief,” I said. 

As long as they are safe, then maybe the spell meant someone else. 

“Do you know what a vial of the fallen and of the risen could mean?”

Titania looked at me with those cat eyes. “I will give you this knowledge wizard but only because Sarissa is missing. I don’t trust you, but you seem to know more about this than I.” 

“Vial of the fallen means from a fallen angel. Vial of the risen means someone who has been brought back from death, or someone who is dead but still alive.”

I gulped. “So one of the fallen and a vampire or zombie were the other ingredients?”

“That’s correct,” Titania stated with a harsh tone like a mean teacher just waiting to smack your fingers with a ruler.

“I must go to deal with matters of my court. I assure you that the mothers are safe. But there will be dire consequences should the ladies be gone long. The balance will shift. You must do what you can.. Sarissa spoke highly of you winter knight. I believe that she would trust you, so that is all I can and choose to give you. Do not fail me wizard!” 

With that, she vanished. Her vines and leaves and wind also vanished, so I was sitting in the relatively empty room of Molly’s apartment, thinking that I am in so far over my head this time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry continues to pour over the book. Titania arrives once more to share some dire news. What of Molly and Sarissa?  
> Who can best help Harry with his troubles this time. An old flame is ignited and brought to Harry through the magic of summer. But what can they do against this threat? How will they get the upper hand?

The next morning, Murphy came over so we could head back over to the circus to question Flex and possibly some of the other carnies. 

I told her about everything that had happened including Evil Bob and Titania. 

“Wow,” said Murphy. “Summer and winter are involved now.”

“Yeah.” I said. “I had Molly researching the connection between the nobles but now it’s pretty clear. Also, now we have to worry about the fallen again as well as some random vampire. I think Thomas is safe because he is not dead. He was born that way. It would have to be someone from the black court.” 

“What are you going to do next?” Murphy asked. “I don’t need you to come with me to the circus if you need to make other contacts elsewhere.” 

“No Murph. I think there is a lot more that the circus people aren’t telling us. We should both go.” 

We hopped in Murph’s car and headed back to the circus. It looked similar to how it had looked before, but there were twice as many people clamoring to get in. The place was mobbed. People waving their hands in the air, many other people standing in the ticket line. 

Through the din of people, I noticed that no one was paying attention to the side of the tent, around which we knew were the trailers of the performers. 

I gestured for Murphy to follow me. Nobody even noticed us slipping around to the back.

I saw some of the performers huddling around their trailers so I pulled Murphy behind a tall haystack with me and I listened. It’s not magic per se. It is something I learned long ago in my training as a wizard. How to listen. Stilling your mind and being able to pick out a certain voice among thousands. 

It took me a few minutes but I was finally able to hear some of the carnies chattering to one another.

“I can’t believe it.” One of them said. “We are sold out and people are clamoring in the door. Who could have guessed that it would work so well.”

“And so little effort,” another one said. “We barely had to lift a finger.”  
“We are all going to be rich beyond our wildest dreams! A few shows like this and we never have to perform again. We can all retire!”

I peeked over the haystack and saw Dahlia, Banda, and Gert. Madson, and the Great Ronstons were nowhere to be seen. I presumed that they were warming up for the sold out show.

“Maybe we should gather some more just to be safe. Who knows how long this stuff lasts?”

“A few more and… No,” said Banda, seemingly the smartest of the bunch.   
“Don't You think this big group of numerous people will draw some undue attention?” 

“We should keep the specimens but not use them until the next town.   
That way, we don’t draw suspicion. Besides, he will want to conserve all the energy he can for the big one. If we draw too much attention then we may have to get more ingredients.” 

“But Darling,” Dahlia obviously. “It takes so much time and energy. And they are so icky,” she said with a gesture of dismissal with her hand. “I don’t want to have to deal with them any longer then we have to.” 

Murphy and I made our way back to the front of the tent.   
I had no interest in staying there any longer than I needed to.

“Let’s go back to my place, Murph.” I want another look at that book. Maybe there is something we missed. Also, Marci was trying to get in contact with Elaine to help me battle these things.  
It all seems to be fitting together slowly but there are a few more pieces to the puzzle.”

Back at Molly’s, I went into the bedroom to look through the book once more. I drew another larger circle around myself so that I could view the book without wayward spirits trying to destroy me. I decided to go through each page methodically. 

Each spell in the book was alphabetical starting with A. A spell called Sky magic- Ascend. Fly to the heavens. All the way to Z. Illusion magic - Zebra. This spell allows you to look like a zebra to passersby but it was just an illusion and if anyone looked close, or touched you the spell would be broken.

At the back of the book, I hadn’t noticed before because I didn’t know what I was looking for, but there was a notes section. 

Seemingly where other practitioners had tried the spells.   
I browsed through the notes but most of them were in several languages.   
One did catch my eye though. Containment and collection of essence - method

The next section was a list of how to create the spheres that we had seen at the barn that had captured the Sidhe noble.   
Reading a little further it said that the collection was the purple smoke which was then captured.

Ah, I thought so that was what they were doing with that Sidhe noble, collecting essence. 

Another note said, careful to not collect essence from the same specimen twice or death is imminent for the specimen. Only one essence can be collected from a living specimen, whether supreme or common. 

The spell for the sphere contained bits of Iron and lead, which made sense being that the circle would be capturing a fe.   
I hoped that Molly wasn’t being hurt by these psychopaths.   
I suppose I could confront the carnies back at the circus but then I may never find Molly.

There were no notes to explain what the spheres were and how long one could stay inside one.  
Was there enough air to get through, could they be fed?

I needed to find out more about the spheres.   
But first, I needed to see if Marci had been able to contact Elaine.

I was about to leave the room when I felt the familiar warm breeze and smell of lilacs and leaves.

“Winter knight.” I heard from behind and turned to see Titania yet again. This time she was wearing a green dress with orange and yellow leaves in her hair. A striking and horribly gorgeous thing of beauty. If I was anyone but the winter knight I would probably melt on the spot. 

She was the opposite of Mab in every way, though she was still angry at me. I seemed to have that effect on the Fe.

“It is more dire than I had even hoped. The summer mother has been taken as well. I do not know how, I do not know where. However, I do know that Mother winter is also not at home. I know not whether she has been captured but I do know that even with the power of the two courts balanced this way, there will soon be trouble. I cannot see what this will do to the mortal world to have so little power in both winter and summer.”

“It is now only Mab and I to control the elements of winter and summer.   
The task is too large for us. The Sidhe of summer and winter will be in a frenzy if they discover our handicap. It is crucial that both the ladies and mothers are returned as soon as possible.”

Outside I noticed the weather had started to change. No, not the weather, it was the sky. It had been nearing sunset only moments before and now it looked as if I was high noon again.

“This is one of the side effects of the ladies and mothers not being here,” Titania explained.   
“It will soon be dark as night again and it will continue to shift back and forth for eternity if they are not found.”   
“Animals who are nocturnal will be affected and your crops and plants will not be able to manage with the constant changing of the light and dark.”

Titania turned towards the window as the sun began to set and rise again.  
“I fear that this is only the beginning wizard.”

Suddenly she whirled on me and said “What is that?” She was looking at my finger where the winter ring had been placed by Molly. 

“It can’t be,” she all but whispered. “Is your mantle currently tied to that ring?”

“Uh, yes” i managed, feeling like I was in trouble.

But instead, she just gave me a sour expression. 

“I see, well that explains it then.” She said with a sense that nothing more needed to be said.  
“Explains what”? I asked.  
“That,” she said. Pointing out the window with a bored expression.  
I went to the window and opened the curtains and saw something I never expected. The sun was shining brightly but there were clouds and a full on blizzard. No, now it was completely cloudy and dark again. But wait, now the sun was shining like it was full on summer.

“How did this happen? Because of the rings?” I asked.  
Titania looked at me with those green cats eyes and said nothing for a time.

“The rings were not the cause of this, but they were part of the catalyst which caused the mothers and ladies to be captured. Too much power was moving back and forth and each time it was like a beacon to whomever had captured them. 

I got it then. Each time that I gave the ring to Molly there was an incredible surge of energy. Perhaps whomever had captured her had found her like a moth to a flame. But how did Sarissa get captured? I asked.  
“And where is the Summer knight, where is Fix?” 

“I keep my knight close by that I may not lose any more power than I already have.”

She held out her hand and in her palm stood Fix. He was smaller than a fairy like toot toot. He stood about 10 inches tall and was enclosed in a cylinder. he didn’t seem like he was stressed out or having any discomfort though there was no furniture or entertainment. He wasn’t frozen that I could see, but I was concerned for his safety.

“Is he ok in there? How could you do that? I said hotly  
“HOW could I do that?!” Titania asked with a voice as hot as the sun. “I do what I like with my knight to ensure both of our safeties.”

She closed her eyes and calmed down a bit. “In fact mortal, it is probably only a matter of time before your Queen imprisons you to keep you near. She will probably make you into a hound or something like that. She does love her hounds. I keep my knight near to keep him safe. He is in no danger.”

“Well yes, I get that,” i said solemnly.   
Outside, the weather had changed yet again. There were now sheets of ice forming on one window while the window on the other side of the room seemed to have sunlight shining through. 

“My lady, what I know of this menace is that it does not respond to Fe magic, Molly and Sarissa cannot escape on their own. I need more help from someone who has magic but not Fe magic.”

“The rings were created to help me deal with this menace without the winter mantle. If I have any hope of freeing the kidnapped, I will need help from non-fe magic. I need to contact the white council and get them involved. 

“I forbid you from involving the white council in these matters, I already have one mortal that is aware of the codex and I cannot imagine what your dubious white council would do.” I have a solution and you WILL make it work..” Titania said waving her hand threateningly. I noticed that she was not waving it at me but the mirror behind me on the dresser in the room.

I looked behind me and saw not myself staring back as I expected but it was her, Elaine.   
She clearly was not expecting to see any more than I her and practically fell backward out of sight. 

She was sitting on a stool and behind her looked like another typical bedroom. I had no idea where she was or what time it was. 

She peered into the mirror and said “Harry, is that you?...and Queen Titania?” Elaine turned pale as stone. “I am no longer bound to summer, you know that your majesty.”

“Winter knight,” She said ignoring Elaine’s protest “I made this portal of sorts for you to converse, Lady elaine, you may have been under the impression that your service had ended for the summer courts. However, when you sided with my daughter aurora during the uprising a few years back, you incurred a slight against summer which must be repaid. The balance must be addressed and this is the way it is going to be. You will come here and fix what Harry Dresden the winter knight has messed with.

“Does this have something to do with the crazy weather? Of course it does,” said elaine to the side, possibly to herself almost completely ignoring the shock that she was still in summers clutches.

“What could I do to combat such a force? I’m in New york.”

I explained to her the situation and how Molly and Sarissa had been kidnapped, I mentioned the rings and showed her mine. As I continued relaying everything, I mentioned the Codex and held it up for her to see. Titania stood as still as a stone staring out the window watching the changing of the seasons over and over.  
“What have you gotten yourself into Harry? Ok, I will be on the next flight to Chicago.”

Titania spoke up then and both Elaine and I jumped. “I am not one to wait for such mortal transport. The mirror will get you here much faster.”   
Both Elaine and I looked at Titania. “I’m sorry,” Elaine said. “But the mirror. Where are we wonderland?”

Titania did not get the reference clearly. “Time is of the essence, Lady elaine. Your Wonderland will have to wait. Please step through the mirror.” 

Elaine hesitated for a fraction of a second, turned and wrote a note on the pad next to her and then literally climbed into the bedroom through the mirror as if climbing through a window on the second story.

“Well Harry, help a girl out.” She reached out for my hand as she struggled to climb through the mirror portal and then there she was. Elaine standing right in front of me. 

We hugged awkwardly and then realized that Titania was staring at us. 

“Um, Thank you my lady.” 

“With the powers of winter and summer in a flux, that took a great deal of my power. I leave you now, please recover the ladies and mothers before the world collapses, this much power cannot be contained for long and I fear an apocalypse if they are not returned by midnight tomorrow.

With that, she vanished as quickly as she came.

The mirror still showed Elaine's room. I supposed that she could travel back and forward as needed until the spell ended. We only had until midnight. That was not a lot of time.

Elaine and I stood there for a minute trying to make sense of all of this.

“Who in their right mind would kidnap nobles of the Sidhe court? Or ladies and mothers for that matter?  
Aren’t they awesomely powerful?”

I sighed. “Fe magic does not work on whatever they are using to capture them.” I said. I was getting tired of relaying the same information to each new person on the team.

“Ok Harry, what's the plan? How do we get Molly and Sarissa back? I don’t like having to work for summer especially since you are winter, but what choice do I have? It's fortunate that I did not have anything to do today,” she said.

“Let me have a look at that book,” she said. I grabbed it out of it’s circle which broke and handed it to her, though she and I were in a circle that I reemphasized with a bit of will. If she noticed the circle, she did not mention it. 

She opened the book and started looking through it, thumbing each page one by one. 

She gasped. ‘“Harry, this book is horrifying. The spells that can be done. I can’t believe your white council would allow such a book to exist.”

“That’s why I haven’t told them about it. I have enough problems without the white council on my tail.” 

“I need to get Molly and the others back but I have no idea where they could be.” 

“It seems obvious to me that if you overheard those carnies talking that she is somewhere at the circus grounds, but the barn you told me about. Maybe we should go there first to get a better look at this cage thing first.” 

Before another word was said.. there was a knock at the door. 

“Um Harry, It’s Marci. Are you talking to yourself in there. Also, have you looked outside? 

“Oh crap,” I whispered. “It’s Marci. I’m actually staying at Molly’s place and that’s her roommate.   
Can you manage a veil?” 

Elaine looked at me as if I was a little child and vanished completely.

“Just a second,” I said as I threw the blanket from the bed over the mirror portal. I did not want to explain to Marci about the portal or Elaine.

I opened the door. 

“Sorry Marci, I was just going over the case and sometimes I like to talk out loud to myself to help me think.”   
Marci’s face showed that she was not convinced but she didn’t press. She peered into the room and looked right where Elaine had been, but I doubted that Elaine would have stood still after vieling. Knowing her, she slipped out as soon as I opened the door. 

“Uh ok, Harry. Just let me know if I can do anything to help. I have been trying to get a hold of your friend Elaine but she seems to have disappeared.” 

I almost laughed. Marci tried to come into the room but I blocked her way saying,  
“Yeah Marci, there is something you could do. Let’s go out into the kitchen. She reluctantly let herself be lead into the kitchen.” 

“Ok,” she said, “We are here, what can I do?” 

“Uh, Elaine has already gotten in touch with me and should be here any minute, she caught the first flight from New york and is on her way by taxi. Could you help me clean up a little and maybe make some crunchwraps or something. I’m sure she will be tired.” 

Marci gave me a weird look but said, “Ok Harry. If that’s what you need. Are you sure you’re ok? You look kind of feverish.”

“I’m just going to step outside and see if she has arrived yet.”  
I opened the door of the apartment and held it open for a few seconds as I felt Elaine brush past me into the hallway. Once I knew she was out there, I closed the door and made as if to run to the window. 

The door buzzer indicating someone was wanting to come up rang about a minute later. 

Marci answered it. “Hello, Oh Elaine, yes Harry mentioned that you were coming, come on up. Third floor. Room 103.” She pushed the button on the phone and held it for a second to open the door so Elaine could come up. She held her ear to the phone again. Satisfied, she hung up the phone. 

A few moments later there was a knock at the door.  
I went to answer and Elaine stood there. 

“Hi Harry,” she said. Then loud enough for Marci to hear. “My luggage got sent to the wrong place. It may be a bit until I get some clothing,” she said eyeing me as if to say, how could you not think about that.

I invited her in and we all sat down at the couch. I made as if to fill in Elaine on the details like I hadn’t already, After a few moments. Marci left and headed back to her room. The oven was some roasted chicken and potatoes as well as a pot of soup on the stove that she had pulled from the fridge and reheated. 

As soon as Marci left, I stopped telling Elaine the things she already knew.

We made a plan to get to the barn next and see what we could do about the sphere entrapment.

I called a taxi which took us to about a block away before Elaine and I got out. We didn’t want the taxi driver anywhere near the barn. 

Elaine and I walked side by side to the barn. She was silent as we walked, looking down and avoiding my gaze. I decided to break the silence and said. “Thanks for coming Elaine. I know this is a bit odd.” 

“A bit?” she said pointing to the sky as it changed yet again to dark and then light again.   
“This is much more than a bit, Harry.” 

“This morning I was in new york and now I am in chicago through a fairy portal and the sun just set again.  
It’s probably best to focus on the mission.” She said scowling. “If I think too much I might just jump back home from wonderland and leave you to fight the fairy nappers on your own.”

I wasn’t sure why she was angry. But I didn't press.

“Here the barn is right up ahead,” I said. Both Elaine and I crouched down and made our way to the nearest haystack. Despite the weather, the barn looked quiet, or as quiet as a barn can be with the constant weather shifting.

I motioned to Elaine and pointed to the next haystack indicating that she should follow me. 

She nodded and he crouched over the next haystack.. We were close enough now that I could see through the barn window. Or at least I could have if It wasn't so dark and then light and then dark again.

My irises could not adjust fast enough to the changes and as such I could not see through the window. 

I motioned to Elaine to head over to the barn door. She threw up a veil and I saw the door to the barn opening slightly.

“Harry,” she called, “there's no one here.”

She appeared in the doorway. At this point there must have been no danger.

“Come on,” she said.  
She pushed open the barn door to let me in.

It looked like a normal barn, where the sphere had been was a stable of straw, a little further down, the hallway where I had slammed the swamp demon into the egg cartons looked as if nothing had happened. 

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Elaine inquired.

“Yes,” I said, “it was all here. The sphere, the swamp demon. I reached out my hand as if to touch the air and sent out my wizard senses.” 

There was a definite magical field somewhere but where? I couldn't place it. 

I meandered around the barn feeling with my wizard sense. 

The magic I was noticing seemed to come to a point near a switch.

I walked over to it cautiously. It looked like any other light switch, there didn't seem to be anything special about it, and I didn't feel any traps or magic bombs. 

I flipped the switch and the room started to flicker. Then solidify into the scene of the previous night. Next to where Elaine stood was the large sphere prison but the sidhe noble was not in it.

The floor was strewn with chicken feathers and broken eggs, clearly from where I had launched the demon the night before. I looked up and noticed a light source above us. The lights had turned out and we were now staring at what was.   
The previous state of the room had been a magical hologram of some sort.

Elaine brought her hand up to the sphere and touched it.

“It feels warm,” she said. “If they were here, they haven't been gone long.”

I made as if to walk over to where Elaine and nearly tripped over something. It was an arm.

Not only an arm, but a sidhe noble arm. 

“Elaine,” come over here. 

It was a horrible sight. The sidhe are a very noble and gorgeous race. Any sidhe noble that I have ever seen could cause you to weep to death from their beauty. 

But not this Sidhe noble. It looked like a raisin. The gauntness of the face, the frailness of the arms and legs. The eyes seemed to have lost all moisture as they wearily looked around.

The noble was still alive.

“Uh, how can I help you? I am the winter night sent by Lady Molly and Queen Mab to rescue you from this prison. I am sorry that I wasn’t here sooner.”

The noble tried to prop himself up onto his arms but fell flat to the ground again.

“Queen’s blessings to you, winter knight. I had feared that I would be lost. My name is Grindel. I was visiting the human world and observing as I normally do. When I was caught off guard and struck from behind and from the sides. Then a blue light hit me and the next thing I knew, I was laying in that sphere prison over there,” he said vaguely pointing to the open sphere where he had been captured. 

“I don’t know who it was and whenever they came in, they were shrouded in odd clothing and spoke in hushed whispers.” 

“Please, sir Knight. Open a way back to the never-never where I may replenish myself. Thank Mab that you came when you did. Any longer and I may not have made it.”

“Are you sure that I should open a way here?” I asked. “It could be anywhere.” 

Grindel gave me a weak smile. “You misunderstand me, I don’t mean to go through the way. I just need to absorb energy from the never-never to replenish myself. Once you open the way, I can take it from there.” He faltered and I helped him up again. 

“Please hurry sir Knight.” Elaine held him up as I focused my will. Grindel faltered once more and Elaine had trouble keeping him from falling to the ground again. “Yes,” she said “Hurry!”

Opening a way to the never-never is something that all wizards can do. The fact that I am the winter knight means that the process is easier, but not much different. 

I held out my staff and drew a small circle in the air, no bigger around than my finger, just enough to not let anything out that may be lurking.

About a foot in front of me, there appeared a hole in reality. On the other side were loud noises and odd smells. I was pretty sure that i did not want to be on that side of the never never.

“There”, I said. I have opened a way. “Elaine, bring him over here.”

“No need, child,” Grindel said as he closed his eyes. 

Magical force started to funnel out of the way. The funnel centered itself on Grindel as he absorbed it.  
As he did so, his features began to change. His hair that had been turned brown and dingy from lying in the dirt, changed to a brilliant white once more. His body started to expand as muscle replaced gauntness. He started to get taller and with every moment it became more difficult for Elaine to hold him. She let go as he grew to 9 feet tall. The last thing to change were his eyes. From the gaunt grey that had once been his feature, the familiar cat eyes emerged. 

The funnel of magic energy stopped and with it the way I had created vanished..

Grindel was a sight to behold. As he finished his transformation, he bowed to me saying “Thank you sir knight, and to the Lady as well. I owe you a kindness. All you need do is call my name and I will come to your aid.”

With that, he vanished as if he had never been there.

Elaine and I looked dumbfounded at each other.

“There's one thing I don’t get. How was he released without perishing? I imagine if they were sapping his essence they wouldn’t have stopped?”

“I can answer that,” came a voice from behind us.

He was a tall man but not as tall as me. He wore a dark cloak but otherwise he was shirtless with green pants and blue shoes.   
He looked smug but also weary. In the center of his forehead was a red jewel that shone and reflected light around the barn. 

I am called “Banda, The mystic”..


End file.
